About this book:
“How
can two people come together when everything else is falling apart?
Olive Galloway always knew that
Brander Delacroix wasn't going to date until he found the girl he wanted to
marry, and she's still marveling over the fact that he decided to date her. But
he did, which means it isn't much of a surprise when he drops down on one knee
in the sand the year after Olive graduates from college. What does come as a
surprise is the sudden realization that she'll no longer be Olive Galloway
living at home with Grams and Macie. She'll be Olive Delacroix, building a new
life in Hawaii with one of her very best friends.
With that understanding, however,
comes a tidal wave of pressure. Between bothersome dealings with soon-to-be
in-laws, a mountain of over-the-top wedding preparations, and a trio of
explosive family secrets, Olive begins to wonder if she'll be able to make it
down the aisle with all of her hair intact. She's thankful for Jazz, her best
friend, who is ready and willing to support her through it all, but she can't
help wondering why Jazz hasn't found a happily ever after of her own.
As the wedding day draws near and one
final devastating secret comes to light, Olive's perfect world comes
dangerously close to spinning off its axis. It will take plenty of faith and
prayer (and no small amount of shave ice) to set things right before the
wedding bells begin to ring and she promises Brander her aloha...forever.”
Spiritual Content- A couple Scriptures are mentioned & remembered; Prayers
& Blessings over food; Talks about God, talking to Him, & relationships;
‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Church, youth group going &
worshiping; Pre-marital counseling & discussions; Many mentions of God, His
will, & faiths; Many mentions of churches, church going, sermons, pastors, ministries,
youth group, worship, & songs; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings
over food; A mention of the drive-through chapels in Vegas;
*Note: A mention of a superstition
for good luck; A mention of Macie wondering if it’s a sin as a Christian to eat
a buddha bowl.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘sheesh’, two ‘dang’s, two ‘geesh’s,
five ‘dumb’s, five forms of ‘stupid’, and six ‘idiot’s; Eye rolling & Sarcasm;
Going to a casino (Olive does not gamble and calls it a waste of money, but
Jazz tries a ten dollar one and only does it once); Mentions of kidnappings &
ransom (teasing); Mentions of Olive’s dog phobia & remembering what
happened (barely-above-not-detailed, Book #2); Mentions of Sin City (Las
Vegas), casinos, & doing things other than drink, smoke or gamble while
there; Mentions of piercing/gauges, tattoos, & getting a tattoo (*Spoiler*
Jazz *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of dog poo & pee; A few mentions of Jazz’s
amputation (Book #1); A few mentions of lotteries & winning one; A couple
mentions of a car accident & deaths; A couple mentions of burglars; A couple
mentions of rehab; A couple mentions of lies; A couple mentions of divorces; A couple
mentions of hunting; A mention of prison (teasing); A mention of a puppy mill;
*Note: Mentions of Jane Austen
& her books; Mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of songs; A mention
of a social media site (Pinterest); A mention of a TV show (House Hunters); A mention
of a Martha Stewart magazine.
Sexual Content- Five not-detailed
kisses, five cheek/jaw kisses, three head/hair kisses, seven barely-above-not-detailed
kisses, five border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kiss, and
a semi-detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, & Hand holding; Blushes; Nearness
& Smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of dates, dating, &
boyfriends/girlfriends; Mentions of blushes & winks; A couple mentions of kisses;
A mention of mooning over someone; Some love, being in love, & the
emotions;
*Note: A few mentions of a scantily
clad showgirl & owning swimsuits smaller than her dress.
-Olive Galloway, age 21
1st
person P.O.V. of Olive
237 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
This series is now over. *sniffs*
Goodness, I enjoyed this series so much, it’s easily on my Favorite Series of
All Time list.
How do I begin? I feel too giddy to
properly put words together.
This book opens about four years
after the prior book, “Barefoot Memories”, and it did take me a few
chapters to catch up and realize what everyone was doing now. I admit to
feeling a little jipped that we haven’t seen the past four years of these
characters, but I suppose it’s realistic.
I think I was sniffling or
smiling like a ninny the whole time reading this novel—Olive and Brander,
thanks so much for reminding me that I’m single. 😉
I wasn’t personally a fan of the
Las Vegas casino scene, but I appreciate that Olive didn’t gamble and that Jazz
didn’t continue.
Really, though, it was just so
cute and of course I loved the faith content so much throughout the series, but
especially in this one. Incredibly clean (not one mention of the wedding night—see
authors? You can write about a proposal and wedding without mentioning
the wedding night. Just sayin’. So incredibly thankful and thrilled that this
author didn’t include any awkward mentions in this book) and so, so
sweet.
Aww, I’m so sad this series is
over! It was everything I love about Christian Contemporary YA and it was
wonderful. 😊 (Dare I hope for a spin-off book about Macie?)
See y’all on Friday with a new
review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this
author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
